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Initiator‐Loaded Gold Nanocages as a Light‐Induced Free‐Radical Generator for Cancer Therapy
Author(s) -
Wang XiaoQiang,
Gao Fan,
Zhang XianZheng
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201703159
Subject(s) - nanocages , radical , photodynamic therapy , chemistry , reactive oxygen species , photochemistry , cancer cell , radical initiator , oxygen , tumor hypoxia , superoxide , dna damage , cancer therapy , biophysics , cancer , monomer , radiation therapy , dna , polymer , biochemistry , organic chemistry , enzyme , medicine , biology , catalysis
Tumor hypoxia greatly suppresses the therapeutic efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT), mainly because the generation of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in PDT is highly oxygen‐dependent. In contrast to ROS, the generation of oxygen‐irrelevant free radicals is oxygen‐independent. A new therapeutic strategy based on the light‐induced generation of free radicals for cancer therapy is reported. Initiator‐loaded gold nanocages (AuNCs) as the free‐radical generator were synthesized. Under near‐infrared light (NIR) irradiation, the plasmonic heating effect of AuNCs can induce the decomposition of the initiator to generate alkyl radicals (R . ), which can elevate oxidative‐stress (OS) and cause DNA damages in cancer cells, and finally lead to apoptotic cell death under different oxygen tensions. As a proof of concept, this research opens up a new field to use various free radicals for cancer therapy.